Speaking to journalists outside Palácio Ratton in Lisbon, the former Chief of the Navy, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, announced the submission of “over 10,000 signatures,” exceeding the minimum requirement of 7,500.
“I want to thank more than a hundred people across our country who helped me collect these signatures. I want to tell Portugal that I am here to uphold the Constitution and honor democracy. My candidacy is the one that can most contribute at this moment to Portugal’s security, stability, and cohesive progress,” he stated.
In his initial remarks, Gouveia e Melo emphasized that his candidacy is “truly non-partisan, independent, and transformative.”
“For 45 years, I have served Portugal. When Portugal needed me, I was there, always present. I did not ask the Portuguese at that time if they were left or right. The only thing I asked was what needed to be done, and I delivered. The Portuguese know they can count on me,” he highlighted.
Stressing that his candidacy aims to “unite the Portuguese” and claiming that his party is Portugal, Henrique Gouveia e Melo downplayed the polls, expressing he is not “truly worried” about a potential decline in support ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for January 18.
“We only need to look at one poll, the poll at the ballot boxes on election day,” he pointed out.
The presidential candidate dismissed suggestions that something is going wrong with his campaign to justify the drop in the polls.
“I believe I am playing my part; others naturally play theirs, and what matters to me is asserting my candidacy as independent, in favor of transformation,” he concluded, receiving applause from supporters who accompanied him to submit the signatures to the Constitutional Court, including Rui Rio.
In addition to Gouveia e Melo, other candidates who announced their presidential bids include André Ventura (supported by Chega), António Filipe (with the support of the PCP), António José Seguro (backed by PS), Catarina Martins (supported by BE), João Cotrim Figueiredo (supported by Iniciativa Liberal), Jorge Pinto (supported by Livre), and Luís Marques Mendes (with the support of PSD).
